Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : Paracelsian Inc (PRLN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jonathan Schonsheck who wrote (4294)	1/10/2000 10:34:00 AM
From: Jonathan Schonsheck	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4342

Paracelsian BioFIT St. John's Wort Testing Featured in Major Boston Globe Article ITHACA, N.Y, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Paracelsian, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: PRLN - news; paracelsian.com) announces that The Boston Globe today published a major article in the Health Section of the newspaper (http://www.boston.com/globe/columns/foreman) featuring the results of testing of a group of St. John's Wort products using the BioFIT(TM) ``functional' quality assurance system. Paracelsian received 8 blinded samples of St. John's Wort products that had been purchased by the Boston Globe. Each sample was evaluated for its ability to inhibit the reuptake of serotonin and dopamine. These are two principal mechanisms involved in ``mood support' for which St. John's Wort products are sold. Of the 8 samples, only two met the BioFIT standard and would have qualified for certification based on their biological activity. ``This further confirms our contention that chemical analysis alone is not an adequate predictor of the ability of herbal products to fulfill the claims printed on their labels,' said Bernie Landes, President and CEO of Paracelsian. ``We are pleased that the Boston Globe had the vision and foresight to undertake this important research project and to publish this story that is so vitally important to informed consumers. In an environment of increasing skepticism about the validity of claims made on the labels of dietary supplements in general, and herbal supplements in particular, consumers will now have a quick and easy way to help them select herbal products that actually deliver on their claims: Look for the BioFIT(tm) logo,' he added. ``Herbal products can provide significant health benefits to consumers. The herbal products industry, largely comprised of reputable manufacturers, has taken steps to support consumer confidence with such actions as developing Good Manufacturing Practices and encouraging the FDA to institute the use of the regulatory powers granted to it under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. The BioFIT(TM) quality assurance program is another very important step forward on the path to not only maintaining, but further building consumer confidence in the herbal products they purchase,' Landes concluded. The BioFIT(TM) ``functional' quality assurance program (U.S. Patent Pending) provides a unique way to validate the label claims of herbal products. BioFIT certification guarantees a product's biological activity, in mechanisms associated with the product's benefit claim, which is equivalent to or better than that of clinically tested products. Since chemical analysis alone has proven to be an inadequate predictor of the biological activity of herbal products, BioFIT offers consumers a new, better way to differentiate among the countless herbal products, of widely varying quality, available to them. BioFIT certified herbal products are expected to be to be found on store shelves within the next 60 days under a variety of different labels. Paracelsian is a unique biotechnology company with two primary areas of focus. First, Paracelsian develops functional bioassays. One set of these assays is the basis of its BioFIT (TM) Quality Assurance program for herbs, botanicals and other dietary supplements; another set of bioassays is the basis of products used to monitor environmental toxins and to identify carcinogens. Second, Paracelsian's Internet business leverages extensive relationships in China, and expertise in nutritional science, to provide unique Internet content, a variety of research services, and authentic Chinese natural products at five interconnected web sites...http://www.yourhealthportal.com/, newcenturynutrition.com, china-med.net, tcmpharmacy.com and findanherb.com.